Zhang Jun

Life

Zhang Jun was fond of horseback archery and possessed a bold spirit; he began his career among bandit bands and at the age of sixteen served as an archer at Sanyang. He entered official service through the military ranks, receiving the rank of Baoyi lang for military merit; in 1117, the seventh year of the Zhenghe era, he was made du zhihui shi, and during the Xuanhe era he rose repeatedly to the rank of Wugong dafu.

At the beginning of the Jingkang era he fought hard against the Jin and was granted the rank of Wuyi dafu and made acting commander of the Thirteen Generals of Hebei. After he came to the aid of the throne, Emperor Gaozong — then still Prince Kang — promoted him to commander (tongzhi) in the grand marshal's headquarters, and by accumulated merit he was transferred to the prefectship of Rongzhou and rose to the rank of Gongwei dafu. Throughout the Jingkang era and the Jianyan and Shaoxing eras of Gaozong's reign he fought the Jin and repeatedly won extraordinary merit.

After Gaozong ascended the throne, Zhang Jun became commander of the forward army of the imperial camp and military commissioner (zhaotao shi) of Jiangnan. In 1130, the fourth year of Jianyan, he entered the capital to guard the court and was made honorary Junior Guardian; in 1131, the first year of Shaoxing, he was made zhaotao shi of the Jianghuai circuits and appointed taiwei. He campaigned through the Jianghuai region, put down the Miao–Liu mutiny and defeated Li Cheng, all with conspicuous service; he also stationed his troops at Jiankang and established his headquarters at Xuyi, winning repeated victories as one of the four generals of the restoration. In 1134, the fourth year of Shaoxing, he became pacification commissioner of Zhexi and Jiangdong, was stationed at Jiankang, defeated Liu Ni of the puppet Qi state, was made Junior Guardian, and was transferred to be xuanfu shi of Huainan West.

In 1141, the eleventh year of Shaoxing, knowing that the court wished to end the war, he was the first to ask to hand over the troops under his command and strongly supported the peace; he agreed with Qin Hui and was made commissioner of military affairs (shumi shi). Qin Hui then stripped all the generals of military power and gave it to Zhang Jun; as more than a year passed and Zhang Jun showed no wish to step down, Qin Hui had Jiang Miao impeach him and he was dismissed. Zhang Jun also at one time held the post of jiedushi (military governor) of the Zhaoqing Army and the title of founding earl; he was enfeoffed as Duke of Guang and Duke of Yi, advanced to Prince of Qinghe Commandery, appointed Grand Preceptor, and rose to the office of Grand Mentor.

He died in the seventh month of 1154, the twenty-fourth year of Shaoxing, aged sixty-nine. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Prince Xun and given the posthumous name Zhonglie.

Family

His great-grandfather was Zhang Shouming and his great-grandmother Ms. Shi; his grandfather was Zhang Qing and his grandmother Ms. Tian; his father was Zhang Mi and his mother Ms. Xie; his wife was Ms. Wei. His sons included Zhang Ziqi, Zhang Zihou, Zhang Ziyan, Zhang Ziwen and Zhang Ziren, and his nephew was Zhang Zigai. His grandsons included Zhang Zongyuan, Zhang Gui and Zhang Shu; his great-grandsons included Zhang Ji (張錤) and Zhang Zi (張鎡), and among his later descendants were Zhang Yan and Zhang Ru. His daughters were married to Qin Gongjin, Han Yanpu, Cheng Shi and Liu Yaoxun.

Assessment and legacy

Zhang Jun was one of the four great generals of the Southern Song alongside Han Shizhong, Liu Qi and Yue Fei, known together as "Zhang, Han, Liu and Yue"; yet he upheld the peace policy and, in the wrongful case of Yue Fei, alone helped Qin Hui to bring it about, and was despised by his contemporaries.

His subordinate commanders included Wang De, Liu Bao, Li Heng, Ma Li, Zhang Xie, Kong Dao, Qi Fang, Xu Zhong and Zhang Yu; Wang De and five others once received the highest rewards on the same day for their merits at Su and Bo (宿、亳). He was a friend of the imperial clansman Zhao Shiniǎo, and Zhang Jun (張浚) also once sent him a letter. Zhou Linzhi wrote the inscription for his spirit-path stele, which is preserved in juan 23 of the Hailing ji; Lu You wrote a record for his temple stele, and Lou Yue, Yuan Jue and Mou Yan wrote colophons on his calligraphy. His biography is in juan 369 of the Song Shi (History of Song).